Mechanism of Metal-Free C-H Activation of Branched Aldehydes and Acylation of Alkenes Using Hypervalent Iodine Compound: A Theoretical Study.

The mechanism of the C-H activation of aldehydes and the succeeding acylation of an alkene using a hypervalent iodine reagent is investigated by theoretical calculations. In contrast to the initial proposed mechanism, the present calculations show that the hypervalent iodine is the initiator of the radical reaction. The formation of acyl radical is rate-determining, and the resulting radical acts as the chain carrier.

Metal-free C-H bond activation of branched aldehydes with a hypervalent iodine(III) catalyst under visible-light photolysis: successful trapping with electron-deficient olefins.

Direct acyl radical formation of linear aldehydes (RCH2-CHO) and subsequent hydroacylation with electron-deficient olefins can be effected with various types of metal and nonmetal catalysts/reagents. In marked contrast, however, no successful reports on the use of branched aldehydes have been made thus far because of their strong tendency of generating alkyl radicals through the facile decarbonylation of acyl radicals. Here, use of a hypervalent iodine(III) catalyst under visible light photolysis allows a mild way of generating acyl radicals from various branched aldehydes, thereby giving the corresponding hydroacylated products almost exclusively.